Society for Propagating Religious Knowledge Among the Poor

Book Society

Paternoster-Row, London, England

The Society for Propagating Religious Knowledge Among the Poor, also known as the Book Society, was formed by dissenters (members of sects that diverged from the Church of England, such as Presbyterians and Baptists) in London in 1750 to distribute religious books to the poor. The Society donated books to Wheelock on at least two occasions in the 1760s; some of these books are still in the Dartmouth Library. The Book Society should not be confused with the Anglican Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), which also distributed religious texts.

Chase, Frederick. A history of Dartmouth College and the Town of Hanover, New Hampshire. 1891. Cramp, John Mockett. Baptist History: from the Foundation of the Christian Church to the Close of the Eighteenth Century. London: Elliot Stock 1868. Accessed via GoogleBooks. Dale, Thomas. “Book Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge Among the Poor.” The metropolitan charities, an account of the charitable, benevolent and religious societies in London and its vicinity. London: Sampson Low, 42, Lamb’s Conduit Street 1844. Pp. 195-196. Accessed via GoogleBooks. Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge Among the Poor. “An Account of the Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge Among the Poor: Begun Anno 1750. London: Leadenhall-Street 1779. Accessed via GoogleBooks.